


The Way the Snow Falls

by SweetwaterBaby



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-19 20:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11906028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetwaterBaby/pseuds/SweetwaterBaby
Summary: Jack was way more messed up from spending too many years as the punching bag for other spirits than anyone could have thought.





	1. Chapter 1

The snow was falling around him as he looked at the town from his perch on the telephone wires. It was early in the morning and most people were still asleep. The storm was a surprise, he hadn’t originally intended on creating a snowstorm, but he figured it was well overdue. Soon people would begin to wake up ready to go about their days, but they would instead wake up to a chill in the air and snow covering the roads. The kids would cheer and smile at the thought of a snow day and just the thought of their joy brought a small smile to his face. 

He stood up and stretched, his blue hoodie, well-worn from years of use, rose to show a sliver of his stomach. He allowed the wind to surround him and whispered for it to take him home. There was no point in staying to watch the reactions to the storm, it’s not like anyone could see him. The wind dropped him gently outside the lake that he called home, and then swept away leaving the boy all alone again. Silence wrapped around him like a blanket as he walked through the snow, leaving footprints that no one would be able to see when they came to the lake later. Logically he knew that he mattered and that he had an impact on the world, but there was no way for him to test this. Other spirits knew that he existed, but they might as well be nonexistent because not one of them had ever tried to get to know him, or even have a peaceful conversation with him. Every time he met a spirit, it was when they wanted to lecture him about the things that he had done wrong. Sometimes it seemed that there was nothing that he could do correctly. 

Kicking up snow as he walked, he wondered about whether things would ever change. Things hadn’t changed for around three hundred years and he was beginning to lose hope that anything was going to start going his way. The sun was beginning to rise and the snow that he has caused to fall was glistening, but he could still see the moon. He paused in his walk and looked up at the moon. “Are things ever going to change?” he whispered, but as usual, the moon didn’t answer.


	2. Chapter 2

Russia was one of his favorite places to be. There were so many stereotypes about Russian winters, and the winters there usually lasted longer. It was nice to be there, nice to have a place that he could use his powers frequently. It wasn’t home though and he could never imagine spending all year there, but it was a great place to cause a little bit of mischief. He couldn’t help but to have a good day when he got to start out in Russia, but he was unaware of the day he was about to have, unaware that everything was about to change. It was a normal day, just like the past three hundred.  
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His laughter echoed around as he watched his ice spread, causing more things to go wrong for the residents of the town. There was nothing wrong with a little bit of fun, especially with all the fun he gave everyone. Flying around the town he looked at the things he had done with a small smile on his face as he called for the wind to help lead him home. Russia was beautiful, especially covered in his snow, but he had his own little town to get back to, and some more mischief to cause there.

It wasn’t spring just yet in Burgess and even though it was getting closer to Easter, he decided to give the town one more snowstorm. One more snow day for the kids. The wind led him through the town, effortlessly dodging all the things that got in his way, as he headed towards the lake. He skidded to a stop, sliding on the icy surface of the lake, wind still swirling around him. The force of the wind knocked the book out of a boy’s hand, and despite knowing that the kid wouldn’t hear him, he made a comment about the book. As the kid leaned down to get his book, his friends surrounded him and started to push him back towards his house. Curious, he decided to follow the group as they walked. 

The kid with the book seemed to believe in a lot of the mythological. The kid even believed in the Easter Bunny still, even though that belief led him to think that the Easter Bunny was cool. He would have to disagree with the boy on that point. The Easter Bunny was not cool, not to him. At best, the Easter Bunny was annoying, and at worst abusive. The kid believed in the bunny, but not in him, in fact, the kid didn’t have a single clue who he was. He had been alone for three hundred years, but the kids’ quick dismissal of him still stung, and he decided to cause a little bit more mischief, call it revenge if you want. He threw a snowball at the back of the kid’s head. It was a little unfair, the kid couldn’t have ducked or dodged it even if he wanted to, but the kid should thank him for this really. 

His snowballs were special, made people want to have fun, even if that was previously the last thing on their minds. The kid thought it was one of the other kids, after all the kid couldn’t see him, which caused a snowball fight. He was happy that the kids were having fun, he just wished that they could see him. The snowball fight caused more kids to join in on the fun and he flew around them serving as the unofficial referee, making sure that everyone would keep having a good time. He noticed another girl, one who wasn’t involved in the game, get hit with a snowball. She wasn’t happy though, and that just wouldn’t do, not on a snow day. He wanted everyone to have fun, he wanted everyone to be happy. He knew what it was like to be unhappy, no one else should feel like that. She was more than unhappy; the girl was angry. 

He didn’t usually interfere in such a noticeable way, but the girl was going to ruin the spirit of things. She was scaring the other kids, so he hit her with a snowball too, and soon enough they were all happy. They were even happier when he took the boy who believed in everyone but him on a sled ride. It was a perfect day, until the boy got hit by a couch, which was not his fault, and got a tooth knocked out. Then all the kids could talk about was the Tooth Fairy, and they forgot all about the fun that they just had. 

He was upset. He should be used to not being believed in, not being seen, not being appreciated. He should be able to ignore it by now, but every time he helped some kids have some fun he thought that maybe, just maybe, that would be the time they started to believe in him, to see him. He tries to talk to the kids, he doesn’t know why, and he stands in front of them, he doesn’t know why he does that either, and the kid walks through him.

It hurts. It’s an indescribable pain. It makes him realize that no matter what he does, no kid will ever believe in him. It brings back all the emotional pain that he has been suppressing, and the weight of it all causes him to stumble backwards. He loses control of his emotions and a snow starts to softly fall as he flies off. 

He looks up at the sky, and stares at the moon, his eyes full of questions. He knows that the man in the moon won’t respond to him, but he’s come to enjoy one-sided conversations. He asks the moon questions, but never gets a response. He just wants to know what he must do to be seen, to be believed in. That’s all he has ever wanted. He takes up his perch on the wires again, waiting for the golden sand that gives the kids dreams. It’s all he can look forward to, and he doesn’t usually take away sand that could give a kid a dream, but after the day he’s had, he thinks he deserves it. He can’t sleep, and that means no dreams, but he can touch the sand and see what his dreams could be like. He wishes that he could sleep, to have an end to the endless days, and a time to regain his peace. He just wants peace.


	3. Chapter 3

He was fascinated by Dreamsand and the way that it could morph, entirely dependent upon the recipient of the sand. Whenever he intercepted the sand it formed dolphins and he doesn’t quite know why, but he’s learned to find comfort in the golden mammal. He finds himself winding down, finally able to relax after the day that he has had when he catches sight of something moving in his peripherals. He turns quickly, taking flight, the wind propelling him forward as he chased down the shadow that he had seen. He finds himself in an alley and he thinks that he caught whatever it is that he saw. He just didn’t expect the shadow to be the Easter Bunny.

He’s tall and intimidating, but he’s not gonna let him know that he’s a little bit afraid, so he shoots back a quip, which he regrets nearly instantly when the bunny’s facial expression turns dark. He messed up back in 68’. He caused a blizzard on Easter, but it wasn’t totally his fault. He lost control, but he’s learned since then. That blizzard cost him a lot more than the respect of the bunny. Blizzards are dangerous, they come on suddenly and can kill people. He doesn’t want people to get hurt. He usually refrains from causing blizzards, but that day was tough, and the small snowstorm that was caused by his emotions quickly swelled and turned into a full-blown blizzard. He regrets it, but there’s nothing he can do about it now. Bunny never got his revenge for the blizzard, at least not in person, and he fears that the day has come for him to atone for what he did. 

It’s not. Bunny shocks him, and even though there is a barely concealed rage hiding behind his eyes, the bunny says that he’s not here for that, and that throws him for a loop. His split second of shock allows for something big to pick him up and suddenly, he’s in the air. He finally gets a look and now he’s just confused. He doesn’t know why Santa’s yetis are here, and he’s certainly not aware of why he is being shoved inside of a sack. He does learn that he does not like being grabbed, and he does not like being put into a sack. He starts kicking because he’s not going out without a fight, but as it turns out, a sack is hard to fight. He also must admit that he’s kind of curious as to wear he’s being kidnapped too, so maybe he doesn’t fight quite as hard as he can. 

When they finally get to wherever it is they’re going, he lands, more like crash-lands, and peeks out to see he’s in Santa’s workshop, and now he’s sure he’s dead. He’s been trying to bust into the workshop for years, and now he’s being hand-delivered there? Something is not right about this and as he peeks out of the sack he can’t help the exclamation that escapes him as he sees not only Santa but the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman as well. Even though they’d been ignoring him for centuries, he couldn’t help but to be a little star struck, besides they were meeting him now, and that had to mean something.

He really hates being lifted into the air, and he really wishes that these yetis would respect his personal space a little as he’s lifted into the air for the second time that night. North has the audacity to assume that his yetis treated him well, and he reacts with a little bit of venom in his voice as he recounts his journey in the sack, but it turns out that sarcastic quips don’t seem to register with North. North goes through some introductions, but neglects to explain the reason to why he’s here. He also learns that he holds the record for being on the naughty list, which is actually a source of pride for him, but the idea also fills him with pain. They knew about him, and North kept track of him, but never bothered to introduce himself before now. There must be a reason. After three hundred years there must be an outside cause to force the guardians to all finally meet him, and North finally tells him. He’s being made a guardian.


End file.
